A senior federal prosecutor in Virginia has privately told colleagues she intends to reject efforts to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, despite mounting pressure from President Donald Trump, according to MSNBC, citing two people familiar with the matter. read more
Economist and YouGov poll finds president had a 16-point deficit in terms of popularity compared with late-night host
Paramount said Monday that it has bought the news and commentary website The Free Press and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News, saying it believes the country longs for news that is balanced and fact-based. read more
Voters under 50 are the least open to electing a female president, and four in 10 Americans personally know someone who would not elect a woman to the White House, a new poll finds.
An 87-year-old Royal Caribbean passenger who was one of nearly 100 people sickened in a norovirus outbreak isn't letting the experience stop him from planning a future cruise. read more
'Assault on the public servants': Ex-DOJ officials calls out 'destruction' of department
www.alternet.org
... A group of 282 former Justice Department (DOJ) officials has issued a warning accusing President Donald Trump of systematically eroding the core functions and independence of the DOJ.
In an open letter, the officials " none of whom are political appointees " claim the Department is under attack, MSNBC reported Monday.
"We believe it's our duty to sound the alarm about this administration's degradation of DOJ's vital work, and its assault on the public servants who do it," the letter reads, per the report.
The signatories are said to include a wide cross-section of long-serving career employees including prosecutors, FBI agents, analysts, immigration judges, civil rights lawyers and more.
Many of those who were forced out, they say, were involved in investigations relating to Jan. 6, 2021 riots, or inquiries into Trump himself. Others resigned quietly, unwilling to be complicit. All were nonpartisan career civil servants, not political appointees, per the report.
The letter accuses the current DOJ leadership of violating constitutional norms and threatening retaliation against employees who don't align with the president's wishes.
Some of the actions they point to include demotions, forced reassignments, firings, and pressure to abandon investigations. These moves, they argue, are draining the department of its institutional memory and eroding its ability to recruit and retain capable, independent staff. ...
... bought the news and commentary website The Free Press and installed its founder, Bari Weiss, as the editor-in-chief of CBS News ...
The Free Press (Common Sense) " Bias and Credibility
mediabiasfactcheck.com
...Overall, we rate The Free Press as Right-Center biased due to its consistent criticism of left-leaning views, especially on cultural and social issues.
We rate them Mixed for factual reporting because, while articles are generally well-sourced, the outlet often presents one-sided opinion pieces that lack counterarguments or broader contextual balance. ...
Found this ...
YouTube Restrictions on Belarus and Russia Strengthen Minsk's Propaganda
jamestown.org
... Russian Minister of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev stated in a June 4 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other members of the Russian government that alternative Russian video platforms, VK Video and RuTube, are "demonstrating considerable progress."
He claimed that two-thirds of YouTube traffic has shifted to Russian platforms and that many Russian content creators from YouTube have moved to these platforms after their channels were blocked and deleted by YouTube last year (President of Russia, June 4).
The restrictions imposed by YouTube on content from Russia and Belarus following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have most negatively impacted independent bloggers and media outlets. The sanctions have made it more difficult for independent media, which previously relied on donations and advertising through YouTube, to expand their audiences and secure funding. ...
fwiw, I make zero effort to monetize my youtube channel. I just post (mostly music) videos, and let the copyright holders get their due money.
Lounge Lizards - Harlem Nocturne (1981)
www.youtube.com
No lyrics, it is an instrumental tune.
Enjoy.
Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized (1983)
www.youtube.com
Lyrics excerpt...
...
Sometimes I try to do things and it just don't turn out the way I want it to
And I get real frustrated and it's like, I take my time and I try real hard
But no matter what I do, no matter what I try it never works out
It's like I concentrate on it real hard but it never works out
It's like, I need some time to figure these things out
But there's always someone there going
"Hey, Mike, you know, we've been noticing you've been having a lot of problems, lately, you know"
"And like, maybe you should talk about it, you'll feel a lot better"
And I go, "No, it's okay, I'm having some problems, I'll figure it out myself"
"Just leave me alone, I'll figure it out"
And they go, "Why don't you talk about it? You'll feel a lot better"
And I go, "No, I don't want to. Just leave me alone, I'll figure it out myself"
And they keep on bugging me
And it builds up inside, it builds up inside
...
@#9 ... Trump lied? ...
Well, yeah. What else does he have beside his lies?
GOP blames government shutdown on health care for undocumented people. That's false
www.npr.org
... The White House and congressional Republicans say that Democratic lawmakers caused the federal government shutdown as part of an effort to extend health care benefits to undocumented immigrants. However, as several independent experts interviewed by NPR note, that claim is false.
At the center of the standoff is the Trump administration's Working Families Tax Cut Act, also known as President Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," signed into law in July.
Democrats say it amounts to tax breaks for billionaires and pays for them with deep Medicaid cuts. The White House insists the law protects taxpayers by preventing undocumented immigrants from getting government health benefits -- but such individuals were already barred from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, exchanges.
"It's a complete distortion," says Leighton Ku, the director of George Washington University's Center for Health Policy Research. It is "simply wrong in the details," he says. ...
@#116 ... Who is not placing blame is social Security recipients and military retirees as their monies continue to arrive on time. ...
"Essential"
What else yer got?
Maybe talk about ...
Do military members still get paid during a government shutdown?
thehill.com
... With some exceptions, most federal workers will not be paid during the government shutdown, including those that haven't been furloughed and continue to work, like TSA officers or air traffic controllers.
But what about members of the military? Are active-duty personnel still getting paid for performing essential defense services?
No, they're not. At least not immediately...
fwiw, and yet another thank-you to MSGT for showing me the media bias website...
RealClearPolling -- Bias and Credibility
mediabiasfactcheck.com
... Overall, we rate RealClearPolling as least biased based on minimal editorializing of content. We also rate them as High for factual reporting due to directly publishing polling data without commentary. ...
@#2 ... That's gotta hurt Orange Adolf. ...
Yeah, I doubt he'd be happy about that.